Every Jewish home has a sweet and sour meatballs recipe. For some of us, it’s scribbled down on a soiled napkin. For others, it’s in our favorite kosher cookbook. And probably for most of us, it’s not written down anywhere but instead trapped in our grandmas’ heads.
That was the case for me, until a couple of years ago when my mom and I went on a mission to make a family cookbook. For hours, we trailed my grandma around the kitchen with measuring cups, paper, a pen, and lots of patience, and attempted to document one of our family’s favorite recipes.
We are so happy we did! It’s absolutely delicious. Tender meatballs, chicken wings (my family’s twist on the classic!), and that heavenly sweet and sour sauce.
Let’s talk about that sauce for a minute–it’s the epitome of a Jewish classic. It shows up in our meatballs, stuffed cabbage, and brisket. It’s the perfect combination of onion, garlic, tomato sauce, sugar, and lemon juice (for my family, at least). It’s slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and totally delicious.
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Now whenever I want to make sweet and sour meatballs, or my sister wants to, or my aunt wants to, we all pull out our copy of the family cookbook and can replicate Grandma’s recipe perfectly. We still can’t get my grandma to use her copy of the cookbook, but I guess she doesn’t need to be reminded of the dishes she’s been making us for years. Thanks Grandma.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe
A classic recipe for sweet and sour meatballs that’s easy to make and perfect for any occasion.
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
For the chicken and sauce:
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 can chicken broth
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
For the meatballs:
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1 large red potato, peeled and grated
- ¼ large onion, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 eggs
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- juice of 1 large lemon
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a 5 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic. Sauté until onions are soft, 5-6 minutes.
- Add chicken wings, tomato sauce, chicken broth, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is simmering, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, add ground beef, grated red potato, grated onion, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix together until just combined.
- Form 1-inch meatballs and drop into the simmering sauce. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Skim fat from top and discard. Add lemon juice and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Serve over wide egg noodles. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: One-pot
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi
9 comments
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kosher
Pronounced: KOH-sher, Origin: Hebrew, adhering to kashrut, the traditional Jewish dietary laws.
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What do you do with the wings?
You add them to the sauce.
I am excited about making this recipe. My grandmother used to make a wonderful sweet and sour meat dish ‘Essic Flashe’ (I apologize, but don’t know how to spell it). I’m hoping this recipe is at least close to her sauce. Is it necessary to add the chicken as well as the meatballs?
Thank you ! I have been looking for good Sweet & Sour recipes.
Where’s the sour in the sweet and sour sauce?
I do not understand where the 2 lb of chicken wings fit into this recipe???
Years ago, my mother-in-law made a dish she called Chicken Fricassee. It had chicken wings and meatballs. It had a sweet and sour sauce from lemon and sugar. This looks similar to what she made.
I don’t understand why the recipe calls for a separate sauce made with 2lbs of chicken wings. There are so many good recipes for meatballs cooked in its own sauce. Personally, I like to use sour salts (citric acid) for the sour, though lemon juice can be used.
The sour is the lemon juice added to the end of the recipe. The chicken wings are added in step 2, so it seems they are boiled.
The recipe reminds me of my aunt’s chicken fricassee recipe.
Sounds pretty good.